PV1A327 Historical Topography

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. David Kalhous, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. David Kalhous, Ph.D.
Department of Auxiliary Historical Sciences and Archive Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Olga Barová
Supplier department: Department of Auxiliary Historical Sciences and Archive Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! PV1A246 Historical Topography &&! AR1A246 Historical Topography &&!NOWANY( AR1A246 Historical Topography )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The lecture is an introduction to the historical topography as an auxiliary discipline for historical research. The main objectives of the course are: introducing students to the identification of site names in sources; assessing old maps as historical sources; understanding the role of iconographic sources for reconstruction of historical landscape; issues of reconstructing the course of (state) borders; presenting the territorial development of the Czech state; and a basic introduction to the history of settlement, changes in the landscape and their related methods.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student will be able to:
1) be conversant with a variety of topographic manuals (Schaller, Schwoy, Wolny, national history series) and literature in this field;
2) identify the historical names of places in connection with existing sites;
3) be familiar with various methods of analysing old maps (especially military mapping and the Franziszeischer Kataster [Land Register of Francis I]), understand their degree of relevance for a given research question, and know how to obtain various kinds of information from them;
4) understand the limits of analysing written and iconographic sources for the study of historical topography;
5) outline the basic characteristics of the territorial development of the Czech state and name and locate its historical components;
6) understand the changes and development of settlement in the Czech lands and the changes in the local cultural landscape.
Syllabus
  • 1) Objectives and methods of historical topography.
  • 2) Sources of historical topography: archaeology and small-scale material relics; old and new maps; local and place names; written sources.
  • 3) Identifying places.
  • 4) Identifying road networks.
  • 5) Recognizing borders and issues of the territorial development of the Czech state.
  • 6) An introduction to the issue of the development of settlements, the cultural landscape, and the perception of them as historical phenomena.
Literature
  • SEMOTANOVÁ, Eva. Akademický atlas českých dějin. 2., doplněné vydání. Praha: Academia, 2016, xxviii, 55. ISBN 9788020025746. info
  • KLÁPŠTĚ, Jan. Proměna českých zemí ve středověku. Druhé rozšířené vydán. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2012, 616 stran. ISBN 9788074221408. info
Teaching methods
1) Lecture: an introduction of the materials. 2) Seminars: understanding of the materials is further practised.
Assessment methods
1) Test with practical tasks. 2) A micro-study of one locality.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught: every week.
Teacher's information
Knowledge from this course can be further developed in AR1B107 How to Study Towns? Chapters from Urban History by Eva Chodějovská.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2021, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/PV1A327